Six of them were already in custody, officials said. The four others were picked up by law enforcement Thursday.

Dubbed "Laugh Now, Cry Later," the operation involved a long list of agencies - the Florida Highway Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the State Attorney's Office and members of the Palm Beach County Multi-Agency Violent Crimes Task Force.

Each member will be charged with racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering and could each spend up to 60 years in a state prison.

Campos, the group's leader, is an undocumented immigrant, officials said. The others are U.S. citizens.

Judge Kathleen Kroll, who is presiding over the statewide grand jury, ordered a $1 million bond for the 10 suspects being held at the Palm Beach County Jail.

The indicted are reportedly active members of SUR-13, a gang also known as SureM-qos-13 (Spanish for Southerners) that originated in Southern California and answers to the Mexican Mafia, a prison gang, officials said.

Law enforcement and state officials created a special grand jury based in Palm Beach County in August to investigate gang activity with the power to bring indictments for crimes such as narcotics, gambling and robbery.

"This had been a tremendous effort on behalf of a lot of people," statewide prosecutor William Shepherd said. "The grand jury will be in session for nine more months so there will be more arrests coming."

In Plant City, several law enforcement agencies announced Friday the indictment of another 10 members of a different gang. They are also being charged with racketeering.

Authorities said they are using the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO act, to crack down on gang activity in the state.

The RICO act is a federal law that provides for extended penalties for criminal acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. Historically, RICO has been used to indict members of the mafia.

"What makes this case unique is that we're using the same statute against gangs," said Michael Driscoll, an agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. "These guys meet together and have a hierarchy and when you put that together we have racketeering."

All 10 suspects have extensive criminal histories.

The group was known for terrorizing the Westgate neighborhood, a subdivision just north of the Palm Beach International Airport and south of Okeechobee Boulevard.

Ortiz, who was in custody at the time of the indictment, was arrested in April on arson charges. He was accused of burning down the house of Norman Borden, a 44-year-old who shot and killed Christopher Araujo, 19 and Saul Trejo, 21, when they tried to run him over.

Kevin Medrano was arrested in August along with two others, including a 17-year-old, for beating a homeless man with a 2-by-4 in the parking lot of a Westgate convenience store. He had been in jail until he posted bond Nov. 21 and was released a day later.

Enrique Medrano, who was also in custody at the time of the indictment, was arrested in July charged with second-degree murder after a drive-by shooting in the same neighborhood left an innocent victim in the hospital with several gunshot wounds. The Medranos are all related.

"[Westgate] community is safer today than it was two days ago," Bradshaw said. "That's what we're going to do in every community that has these guys in them."

Maria Herrera can be reached at meherrera@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6544.